As I stated in the review forRuckus, LJ Shen is a MASTER—an absolute MASTER—of writing characters I don’t want to like. (She’s also in the running for having quite possibly the hottest cover models who ever lived on her payroll, but I digress...) Much like Dean and Vicious, Trent is a jerk. A real a-hole. He’s demanding, he talks down to people, he’s domineering. But somehow, just like she made me fall for Dean and Vicious by, say, the 20% mark of the story, LJ Shen somehow manages to make me stop wanting to knee Trent in the groin. And by 50%, I find him damn near irresistible. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: How the heck do you DO that, LJ Shen???

I was pleasantly surprised that the relationship between Trent and Edie wasn’t nearly as “scandalous” as I thought it would be. I mean, normally, when I think about a relationship between a guy and a woman half his age, I assume she’s a gold digger and he’s a horny, pathetic dude desperate to cling to youth any way he can. But Trent was 100% comfortable with who he was and how old he was, and Edie was kind of an old soul, so the age difference wasn’t a big sticking point for me as a reader. In the hands of another author, I might’ve been bothered by it, but not here--so, that made me happy.As for Trent and Edie together, the sexual tension was off the charts! This one is steamy with a side of dear-lord-lemme-fan-myself, folks. But sex wasn’t the focus of their relationship. There were still plenty of points in the story where the characters actions made it clear that these two terribly complex people really understood each other. Despite their differences, they were perfect for each other. And honestly, I’m not sure anyone else would’ve been able to tolerate either of them, so it’s a good thing they found each other!The villain got what was coming to him a truly fitting manner, too. So often I read contemporary stories where the villain doesn’t really get punished as harshly as I would’ve liked. The ending for this despicable dude was satisfying. (And side note to author: If you decide to eventually write Luna’s story, I’m all in! I will 1-click the CRAP out of that one) Long-story-short: This is a great series that I suggest you go 1-click immediately!!

Full disclosure: We received an ARC from the author in exchange for an honest review.

Does this book contribute to or help crushthe romance stigma?Crushes it! This one is clean and sober. No rehab needed.

Other reading suggestionsDefinitely read theLJ Shen backlist. And when you’re done with that, if you’re looking for another scandalous, slightly taboo romance between two characters that were absolutely made for each other, try Carian Cole’sTorn. ​